Future Goals and Addressing Substance Misuse Among Nurses

1. Where do you want to be in 5 years? How can you achieve this goal?

In five years, I hope to be a knowledgeable nurse, where I feel comfortable in the job I have acquired. I hope to be a critical care nurse working in the incentive care unit at a well-known hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. By five years, I will have received a certification in critical care and possibly other certifications. I also may be thinking about going back to school to become a family nurse practitioner within the five years. I can achieve these goals by becoming a dedicated nurse to my patients and continuing with my education throughout the five years.

2. Why is substance misuse among nurses a serious concern? What is the most appropriate way to handle a suspicion that a coworker may be involved in serious substance misuse?

A nurse under the influence of any substance is violating the rules and regulation of that facility. If a nurse is getting that substance from the hospital from which they work, they are abusing their authority and grossly wasting funds. It is in the nurse’s code of ethics that if inappropriate or questionable practices are of concern, thus attention must be called to the possible detrimental effect on the patient’s welfare. If I was working with this nurse, first I would express concern to that person about the possibly harmful effect their placing on the patients’ well being as well as their own. Then, this problem should be reported to appropriate authorities such as the charge nurse or the nurse manager (Weiss & Tappen, 2015, p.